After laying eggs in July, scientists at the CDRS were optimistically hopeful that the two female isabela tortoises sharing lonesome george's pen (Geochelone becki) would indeed have produced lonesome george's offspring. This would have created a batch of hybrids and saved, at least some, of george's unique genes. However, news paper articles have said that the eggs are infertile so i lost hope.
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Last Updated: 5:22PM GMT 06 Dec 2008
Lonesome George became unexpectedly amorous with a female subspecies - but the resulting eggs are not looking healthy.
The 90-year-old raised hopes earlier in the summer when he successfully mated with two female tortoises of another subspecies after decades of disinterest in the other sex. The resulting batch of around a dozen eggs caused excitement around the world that Lonesome George had ensured the survival of his species.
However hope began to fade when park rangers reported the eggs were losing weight and not looking good.
Now disappointed scientists have announced that all the eggs are infertile.
Lonesome George has become a cause célèbre for conservationists around the world since he was found in 1971, the last known member of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies (Geochelone nigra abingdoni).
During his decades in captivity, George had showed little interest in sex, but he surprised rangers earlier this year when he mated with a female of a different subspecies.
His new-found libido raised hopes he could save his subspecies from extinction. The eggs were laid three months ago and placed in incubators, decorated with religious images by rangers in the hope of a miracle.
However, the eggs showed signs of infertility early on and staff at the Galapagos National Park have now declared no embryos have developed.
The Galapagos National Park director general, Sixto Naranjo, said George could be sterile, or else the female's adjustment to captivity could have left them infertile.
Another possibility is that the diet in their breeding centre negatively affected their reproductive systems, he said.
But conservationists have vowed to continue trying. A team of seven biologists and 26 park rangers have begun taking blood samples from tortoises on nearby Isabela Island in search of hybrid species that share as many or more genes with Lonesome George and could provide a new girlfriend – and a rare species with another chance.
BUT, today whilst browsing the GCT's own website i stumbled across this article:
Scientists in Galapagos who have been anxiously incubating the eggs of the world's only surviving Pinta Tortoise are hopeful that 14 of Lonesome George's eggs may be fertile.
Naturalists were initially sceptical when rangers from the Galapagos National Park on Santa Cruz Island found a clutch of eggs in the enclosure Lonesome George shares with two Espanola Tortoise females. Tortoises, like chickens, often lay eggs without any male input.
And now the rangers, who have taken care of the world's loneliest batchelor at the Charles Darwin Research Station since he was moved from Pinta Island in 1972, have found another three eggs in a nest in his enclosure.
These three, all of perfect size and weight were immediately transferred to incubators - two being coddled at a temperature of 29.5º C to hatch females and one at 28 ºC to ensure a male.
'This is such exciting news after all the years of waiting,' says Toni Darton, Chief Executive of GCT, which has been funding the tortoise breeding programme at the Research Station for many years.'
So are the eggs fertile??? Can anybody shed anymore light on the situation?
On other news, reintroduction of Espanola tortoises onto Pinta is due to occur either later this year or next.
Lonesome George's first sex in decades ends in disappointment
Lonesome George, the conservation icon of the Galapagos islands and last surviving tortoise of his kind, is set to stay lonely – at least for the time being.
Lonesome George, the conservation icon of the Galapagos islands and last surviving tortoise of his kind, is set to stay lonely – at least for the time being.
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Last Updated: 5:22PM GMT 06 Dec 2008
Lonesome George became unexpectedly amorous with a female subspecies - but the resulting eggs are not looking healthy.
The 90-year-old raised hopes earlier in the summer when he successfully mated with two female tortoises of another subspecies after decades of disinterest in the other sex. The resulting batch of around a dozen eggs caused excitement around the world that Lonesome George had ensured the survival of his species.
However hope began to fade when park rangers reported the eggs were losing weight and not looking good.
Now disappointed scientists have announced that all the eggs are infertile.
Lonesome George has become a cause célèbre for conservationists around the world since he was found in 1971, the last known member of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies (Geochelone nigra abingdoni).
During his decades in captivity, George had showed little interest in sex, but he surprised rangers earlier this year when he mated with a female of a different subspecies.
His new-found libido raised hopes he could save his subspecies from extinction. The eggs were laid three months ago and placed in incubators, decorated with religious images by rangers in the hope of a miracle.
However, the eggs showed signs of infertility early on and staff at the Galapagos National Park have now declared no embryos have developed.
The Galapagos National Park director general, Sixto Naranjo, said George could be sterile, or else the female's adjustment to captivity could have left them infertile.
Another possibility is that the diet in their breeding centre negatively affected their reproductive systems, he said.
But conservationists have vowed to continue trying. A team of seven biologists and 26 park rangers have begun taking blood samples from tortoises on nearby Isabela Island in search of hybrid species that share as many or more genes with Lonesome George and could provide a new girlfriend – and a rare species with another chance.
BUT, today whilst browsing the GCT's own website i stumbled across this article:
Lonesome George's eggs are fertile!
Scientists in Galapagos who have been anxiously incubating the eggs of the world's only surviving Pinta Tortoise are hopeful that 14 of Lonesome George's eggs may be fertile.
Naturalists were initially sceptical when rangers from the Galapagos National Park on Santa Cruz Island found a clutch of eggs in the enclosure Lonesome George shares with two Espanola Tortoise females. Tortoises, like chickens, often lay eggs without any male input.
And now the rangers, who have taken care of the world's loneliest batchelor at the Charles Darwin Research Station since he was moved from Pinta Island in 1972, have found another three eggs in a nest in his enclosure.
These three, all of perfect size and weight were immediately transferred to incubators - two being coddled at a temperature of 29.5º C to hatch females and one at 28 ºC to ensure a male.
'This is such exciting news after all the years of waiting,' says Toni Darton, Chief Executive of GCT, which has been funding the tortoise breeding programme at the Research Station for many years.'
So are the eggs fertile??? Can anybody shed anymore light on the situation?
On other news, reintroduction of Espanola tortoises onto Pinta is due to occur either later this year or next.
. I think it's fair to say that Lonesome George will remain lonesome.
